WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST: academy finances
12 academies with a full-year return, 0 of them in deficit at their latest return. A trust can move money between its academies, so an academy shown in deficit may be supported by the trust as a whole.
Most of a school's money pays for staff, so deficits usually build up when pay and other costs rise faster than funding, or when pupil numbers fall and the money that comes with each pupil goes too. What helps: a recovery plan agreed with the council or trust that brings the budget back into balance over a few years, regular forecasts that governors check, and early conversations about pupil numbers and special needs funding.
- 2021-22: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 12 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £286 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £302 in 2025–26 prices. The IFS average for all trusts in 2023-24 was £510 per pupil, in 2025–26 prices (IFS, p.56).
Figures are each school's latest full-year return, total with the per-pupil figure beside it. PTA income is the school's share of its registered parents' association's latest return, in the school year that return falls in. Where no registered parents' association was found, the school may still have one: charities with an income of £5,000 or less need not register.
| School | Status | Reserve | Government funding | Spending | PTA income | PTA per pupil | Donations | Reserve per pupil trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Healthy | +£56k +£364 per pupil | £893k £5,799 per pupil | £976k £6,338 per pupil | £5k £29 per pupil | £29 | £3k £19 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£95k +£801 per pupil | £955k £8,025 per pupil | £941k £7,908 per pupil | £3k | — | £10k £84 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£248k +£588 per pupil | £2.5m £5,867 per pupil | £2.3m £5,358 per pupil | £15k | — | £2k £5 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£2.2m +£1,087 per pupil | £14.5m £7,061 per pupil | £14.8m £7,222 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £134k £65 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£506k +£1,138 per pupil | £3.1m £6,928 per pupil | £3.0m £6,672 per pupil | £12k £26 per pupil | £26 | £13k £29 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.3m +£1,289 per pupil | £7.8m £7,558 per pupil | £7.8m £7,591 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2010 | — | £8k £8 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.2m +£1,741 per pupil | £4.6m £6,360 per pupil | £4.1m £5,695 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2009 | — | £13k £18 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£868k +£1,820 per pupil | £3.1m £6,545 per pupil | £2.8m £5,895 per pupil | £13k £27 per pupil | £27 | £8k £17 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£158k +£3,283 per pupil | £533k £11,104 per pupil | £479k £9,979 per pupil | £872 | — | £1k £21 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£302k +£2,236 per pupil | £855k £6,333 per pupil | £799k £5,919 per pupil | £2k £16 per pupil | £16 | £4k £30 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.5m +£2,792 per pupil | £3.9m £7,153 per pupil | £3.5m £6,499 per pupil | Registered, no income filed yet | — | £4k £7 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£253k +£5,744 per pupil | £498k £11,318 per pupil | £492k £11,182 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £91 per pupil |
Sources: DfE Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool data (CFR returns for council-run schools, April to March; academy accounts returns, September to August), Get Information about Schools, DfE section 251 outturn (DSG balances), the Charity Commission register and the IFS annual report on education spending in England 2025–26 (IFS figures in 2025–26 prices, November 2025 deflator). Open Government Licence v3.0. Check at source: DfE benchmarking for this trust. How these figures are worked out